Coup report ignites praises, tough questions

The recently released declassified report on the 2013 and 2016 purported attempted coups has left the public with divergent views.

The report, titled “Pushing the Reset Button for South Sudan,” has sparked a debate on social media since its release, with some citizens and leaders voicing their concerns about its credibility and timing.

The report was prepared by a renowned British law expert in crime, Steven Kay QC, and linked 12 South Sudanese politicians—among them the First Vice President, Dr Riek Machar Teny—in 2013 and 2016 alleged coup plots to ouster President Salva Kiir.

Report welcome

On Saturday, a group called Senior Youth of South Sudan (SEYOSS) aired its views, thanking the government for making it available for public consumption.

The group called on fellow youth to give themselves enough time to read the report in its entirety to become acquainted with the root causes of the conflict in the country.

However, it warned against forming a premature opinion based on its content, saying it is good for general knowledge, but it should not be summarily trashed or considered the gospel truth.

“No one should make the mistake of disregarding it or taking the report as gospel truth because, at times, the report can be untrue or true depending on the personality, credibility, and confidence that the public has in the author of the report,” the group stated in a press release.  

The youth also called for the application of natural justice rules so that those mentioned adversely in the expose are not treated as criminals.

“We encourage the senior youth of South Sudan to be guided by the principles of natural justice, and hence, youth should avoid rushing to a conclusion because the people named and accused in the report are legally presumed innocent until proven guilty,” the statement added.

They also urged the government to grant the public the freedom to react to the report, including the accused people.

The youth reacted just a day after Mr Kay fiercely defended his report, arguing that it was authentic. He also dismissed the circulated information that he was paid $17 million by the National Security to file the report, which claimed to be one-sided.

Reactions

Two days before that, when the office of the President released the report on their Facebook Page on Wednesday, several South Sudanese reacted.

A user identified as Daniel Deng Yel appreciated it, arguing that it had exposed the politicians who masterminded the war and called for the prosecution of those whose names were revealed.

“Thank you, Steve Kay and your team, for excavating the truth aided by empirical evidence. “Justice must prevail by prosecuting the initiators of those two attempted bloody coups,” he said.

Yel dismissed the allegation that $17 million was paid as consultancy fees to compile the report, adding that the UNMISS and AU must be questioned for what he called “denial of the truth regarding the two attempted bloody coups of 2013 and 2016.”

But for Bonga Bas, the report was fake and might cause a rift among the parties to the agreement, adding that it had been there since 2013 and was dismissed by a South Sudan court in 2014.

“This fake 2013 coup narrative has resurfaced again. Poorly re-narrated by the so-called NSS just to cause a rift among peace parties so that the little trust and confidence built (is) eroded and, as such, fighting ensues,” Bonga commented.

Opposition dismisses

On Wednesday last week, the Deputy Chairman of the SPLM/A-IO and the First Deputy Speaker of the Reconstituted Transitional National Legislative Assembly (R-TNLA), Oyet Nathaniel Pierino, branded the Steven Kay report as concocted, baseless and unfounded.

“The telephone interception, which the National Security claims to be attributed to my Chairman Dr. Riek Machar and other citizens, we do not believe in it. It is cooked, concocted and has no basis. So, the report is baseless, “Oyet stated.

Oyet claimed that the report was one-sided because it could not reveal the government officials alleged to have committed heinous crimes in 2013, and 2016.

“Why is it that the same investigation committee did not report on the atrocities committed by the then SPLA, the national security, the police, and the wildlife who attacked and killed civilians in Juba from 15 to 22 December 2013?”

He called for the establishment of the Hybrid Court and the Commission for Truth, Healing, and Reconciliation, to investigate and release their reports, and not the one from the National Security, which he claimed was also charged with committing atrocities.

 “We shall wait for the hybrid court to be established, and the commission for Truth, Healing, and Reconciliation, other than to receive a one-sided report,” he continued.

“We want the report of the truth, reconciliation, and healing commission to be carried out, and all citizens should know. All the citizens from all walks of life, the victims and perpetrators, must be given opportunities, to explain their side of the story, not through telephone interception. “

He concluded that the report was a breach of the rights of the people whose names were published, claiming that they deserved the right to privacy, and that their private communication could not have been accessed without their permission.

On Monday, President Salva Kiir directed the National Security Service and the London-based BRL Law Firm to release the evidence of the atrocities caused during the 2013 and 2016 wars.

In his address to the nation, President Kiir acknowledged that atrocities were committed on both sides and emphasised that all found liable would be prosecuted.

 “We are all aware that in 2013 and 2016, many atrocities were committed by both sides in the war. The government does not deny, minimize, or shy away from prosecuting those who have committed crimes. We have demonstrated this through our actions. We have prosecuted people, and imposed considerable prison sentences to those who were found guilty, including our own soldiers, “Kiir said in his address on Monday last week. He also promised to pardon those whose names should be made publicly known.

President Kiir also called for the establishment of the Commission for Truth, Healing, and Reconciliation as well as the Hybrid Court to be set up to hear the truth about the atrocities committed through eyewitness reports.